


Bygul and Trjegul

by Arabesqueangel



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Loki (Marvel) Feels, M/M, Pining, This is not the angst you are looking for, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, seriously, what is WRONG with me?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 13:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20258932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arabesqueangel/pseuds/Arabesqueangel
Summary: Loki breaks free from his prison on Asgard after his attempt to take over Earth with the Chitari. Now he's free to wreak havoc, make mischief and annoy the hel out of his brother and the Avengers. Or... he could just open up a cat rescue instead? Guess which one he chooses?





	Bygul and Trjegul

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jaxonkreide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaxonkreide/gifts).

> Frostiron Bingo once again! This is square G5: "Don't worry, I won't cut you" from Game of Thrones. Just putting it out there, I haven't watched Game of Thrones so I have no context for this quote. But... we all know where our minds go with this kind of quote and Loki, this fic... is not that. I went in a bit of a different direction. 
> 
> That different direction was thanks to Jax, who tossed out this prompt about Loki being able to get the gist of what cats are saying via Allspeak and coming across stray kittens begging for their mother. As a crazy cat lady with two cats and a kitten at home, I just couldn't resist!

Loki hummed happily, basking in the contentment he felt. It was a peace that had been sorely missed in his life up to now. Sure, there were reasons for mild concern. The kitten in his hands was terribly small, clearly malnourished. There could be complications, but Loki had seen enough strays in his year of doing this that he was reasonably confident that the little guy would come out all right. Then there was the kitten that was due back from eye surgery. The poor little one had been brought in severely scratched by another cat. 

There were always things to occupy Loki’s attention and concern, but those were a balm in themselves. Nothing in this life felt remotely like the one he had left behind. His responsibilities were all to himself and his conscious, all self assigned. There was no need for the jealousy, malice or violence which had colored his most recent years. He never could have imagined this was where he would be, feeding a tiny kitten back to health in his own cat rescue.

As if on cue, Tiger hopped onto the counter that Loki was working on to investigate the new little one. Loki chuckled as Tiger sniffed at the kitten’s belly and sneezed, looking absolutely affronted. Loki scratched his ears before settling the little one that had startled at the noise. 

Tiger, appropriately if unimaginatively named for his striped orange fur, deposited himself at the edge of the counter. He, his two brothers and sister, were the only cats that Loki had not put up to be adopted. They had been there from the beginning; were the beginning, in fact. 

Loki had just escaped prison on Asgard. The smart plan would have been to leave the Nine Realms entirely, put the past behind him and never risk being imprisoned again. Loki, however, was not exactly known for choosing smart over petty revenge. So instead, he found himself on Midgard. Thor was still there, as was that annoying team of heroes that Stark had called the Avengers. 

Loki didn’t have any continued aspirations toward ruling the planet; he actually wasn’t entirely sure what he had been thinking working towards that goal in the first place when he had never truly wanted to rule. No, he would be satisfied by making Thor and his new compatriots’ lives miserable. That, and when he wasn’t coming up with mischief, enjoying the fast pace and the clever forward progress of this little world. It had been something he had only caught glimpses of during his campaign, but he found himself actually looking forward to discovering more about this little planet of mortals.

He had decided on New York City as his initial place of residence. Bold, possibly, considering the chance of discovery, but somehow Loki sensed that without his Asgardian gear, no one would look twice at him, much less connect him to the man who had tried to take over their world more than a year before. Still, he was walking through the less populated streets of the city, scouting out his new home base when he heard cries. 

They weren’t human cries, but the small mews of kittens. What really caught Loki’s attention, however, was that he could almost understand them. As part of Loki’s testing his shapeshifting abilities, and because he had always loved animals and the unconditional love they could offer, he had learned how to tailor his All-Speak so that he could understand animals as well as people. Their methods of communication were generally not as straightforward as speaking, sentient people’s, but in taking on animal form he had learned how the communication centers of various animal’s brains worked and was able to get to a 90% solution. Of course, that was for Asgardian animals, who were smarter and in many other ways different than those found on Midgard. For these cats he understood closer to 25%, but it was enough to understand the essence of what they were saying. 

“Mommy! Mommy! Come back!” 

At this point, Loki would have said, if he had anyone to speak to, that he had entirely no heart left. He would insist that he had cut it out entirely when he gave up on the lie that was his entire life. This, in itself, would have been a lie. Though, he wouldn’t have really had a grasp of how much of one until he heard those wrenching cries and felt what was left of his heart shatter entirely. 

He didn’t even think about it. He dashed into the alley where the cries were coming from. He tore through the pile of rubbish where they were hiding and there they were. Four little grimy, shivering bodies looking up at him, meowing plaintively. He scooped the four kittens into his jacket to warm them up, muttering soft and soothing comments, hoping that like he could, they would get the general meaning. They seemed to because it didn’t take long before they quieted down. A quick scanning spell found no adult female cat in the general area. Scanning the little ones told him that they hadn’t had any sort of sustenance for a few days now which led him to believe that something had happened to their mother. 

Loki peeked into his jacket again to see the four kittens settled peacefully. He reached a hand in tentatively to stroke the fur of the closest kitten, the one who he would come to call Tiger, until he started to get a bit more familiar with Midgardian language and culture and therefore better at naming. Tiger looked up at him and started purring. Loki knew at that point that he would have to find someplace to live sooner rather than later. He had four little ones to take care of.

Somehow, taking in the four kittens had led to rescuing more, these others to then be subsequently adopted. That had somehow led to opening a rescue shelter. More than a year later, Bygul and Trjegul had grown into the largest cat rescue in New York City. It was, perhaps, a bit on the nose to name his rescue after Freyja’s cats, but he couldn’t resist the tribute to his favorite animals from his childhood. He had practically grown up with those cats and missed them more than he cared to admit. All of Loki’s ridiculous plans for mischief had been forgotten the moment he cradled those tiny, purring bodies in his jacket. 

As Loki had suspected, even with his light notoriety in running a large rescue shelter, he’d never had to put on a glamor. He did go by Luke Laufeyson for legal purposes, but otherwise he had never been identified. He had been nervous when there had been small news stories printed and televised about him, but there had been absolutely nothing that had come of them. Thor had never darkened his door and the Avengers had never come for him. 

So, with all the comfort and anonymity that Loki had enjoyed over the last year, he supposed he must have tempted the Norns too far. It wouldn’t do for Loki to be too happy for too long. So, the women who twisted fate saw fit to send trouble right to his door. Loki had been lost in thought and the soft gurgles of a kitten’s stomach full with milk for the first time in too long, when the door chimed. Loki must have had a soft smile on his face initially, but that fell away when Tony Stark, of all people, walked into his place. 

To someone observing, they would have likely made an amusing sight. Loki was currently cradling a kitten in one hand and a bottle in the other, blank faced and blinking in surprise. For his part, Tony Stark was currently carrying a basket that contained three less sated kittens. His expression was utter shock and he looked like he was undergoing an internal debate about whether to drop the basket so that he could go for his weapon. 

“I won’t cut you, don’t worry,” were the words that popped out of Loki’s mouth. He just needed something to assure Stark that he meant no harm to keep him from dropping the poor dears in his basket. It didn’t make the most sense, granted, but it was all his flustered mind could come up with at the time.

Tony frowned at him in confusion. To demonstrate, Loki held up the little kitten in his hand, waving one of the paws at him to emphasize that he was wielding a tiny animal, not a weapon. At that, Stark laughed. He walked forward and set the basket down, still laughing. 

“I’m not sure if you are fucking with me, or if you really have traded scepters for kittens, but either way, you got me. Kudos,” Stark finally managed as his laughter died down. 

At Stark’s laughter and approach, Tiger had gotten his back up, literally, and was inching his way until he was in front of Loki, ears flat on his head, glaring at Stark. He wasn’t quite hissing, but the displeasure was clear. 

“It’s fine, Tiger. He won't hurt me,” Loki murmured, rubbing a hand along the cat’s back.

Stark scoffed at that, but then looked contemplative when Tiger visibly relaxed.

“Can he understand you?”

“Well enough,” Loki responded with a one shoulder shrug. Tiger turned to eye Loki and give a concerned mew. Loki chuckled.

“Wait, can  _ you _ understand  _ him _ ?” Stark spluttered.

“I can get the general meaning of what he’s trying to say. Mostly he’s just expressing his dubiousness of my analysis of your threat level.”

Loki hadn’t quite gotten to the level of understanding with these cats as he had with Asgardian animals. Unless he completely shapeshifted, he couldn’t communicate fully, but he had worked his way up to about a 50% solution. 

“Well, don’t you have layers, Bambi?” 

Loki just raised his eyebrow in question at Stark.

“So, where did this whole thing come from, Cat Whisperer?”

“Where did what whole thing come from?” Loki asked. He wasn’t sure if Stark was referencing his ability to communicate with animals, his presence in the animal rescue or his presence on Midgard, in general.

“You… here… do you work at this place? Did you break in just to get your daily dose of cuddles? I can’t say that this matches any part of my view of Loki, god of blowing stuff up.”

Loki hummed thoughtfully, wondering how he should reply to that. It was a blatant reference to their previous meeting, the first thus far, but it hadn’t been framed in any sort of aggressive manner. 

“Believe it or not, Stark, I was not always the god of blowing stuff up,” Loki said dryly.

“Yeah, Thor said that. I never believed it until now,” Stark replied, eyeing Loki up and down. 

“So, the basket,” Loki rushed to say, wanting to get Stark thinking about something other than the fact that he should be telling Thor about this. 

“Basket?” Stark frowned. Loki gestured to the receptacle Stark had placed on the counter where three little siblings were wriggling around as they battled for kitten domination. “Oh, basket, yeah.”

Stark smiled at the display going on in the basket before his grin turned a bit sheepish. He rubbed the back of his head nervously and his sheepish smile fell into a frown. 

“So, yeah, we… the Avengers I mean.” Stark looked up at Loki.

“Yes, I’ve met them, remember?” Loki said wryly, thinking back to his one and only direct conversation with Stark.

“Hehehe, yeah. Uh… anyways… we were fighting the bad guy of the week. I don’t even remember his name, he was super lame. But he had some robots. This cat just dashed in front of one of them, trying to cross the street and… I couldn’t stop it.” 

Stark broke off then, looking more upset than Loki would have anticipated. He hadn’t pegged Stark for any sort of animal lover. Then again, given the context, he could understand why Stark wouldn’t have thought it of  _ him _ either. Loki gave him a small, sympathetic smile and Stark continued.

“So, yeah, we were cleaning up after the battle, seeing if anyone was hurt and I heard these little guys yowling up a storm. They were across the street from where the adult cat had been. I’m guessing she was trying to get back to them. So, yeah, I scooped them up and brought them here,” Stark finished quickly, obviously not wanting to think too much on it.

Stark looked down into the basket at the the kittens actively trying to kill one another and smiled reluctantly, he braved sticking a hand into the grey tabby fray and scratched at the belly of one of them. It was ridiculously endearing, Loki thought, enjoying the soft smile on Stark’s face. But only because the kittens were so adorable, he corrected himself, looking into the basket. 

“Can you take them?” Stark asked finally. 

Loki was a bit surprised; he had definitely expected Stark to go running for Thor as soon as he got the story, not leave three innocent kittens with Loki. Still, he needed to be sure.

“It seems a bit pointless, considering I won’t be here for much longer,” Loki said. 

“Huh?” Stark’s attention was drawn away from the kittens. “What do you mean? Moving locations?”

Loki suppressed the desire to roll his eyes. 

“I was more referring to the fact that once you go telling Thor about this little encounter, he will be coming to collect me and take me back to Asgard,” Loki said, and then realized that it had sounded like Loki was just going to come quietly. “Not that I’d let him, of course, but it would necessitate leaving this place, at the very least.”

That thought hurt Loki more than he’d like. He enjoyed Midgard, had come to love it even. He may not have anyone aside from his four cats, but his days were filled with pleasant interactions and a sense of accomplishment in connecting lost cats with people who would care for them. On weekends, he went out to the coffee shop around the corner and spent hours just watching the bustle of the busy mortal’s lives. It was more than he ever could have hoped for. He was going to miss it terribly.

That was, of course, on top of the difficulty he would be facing, going on the run with four adolescent cats. He couldn’t put anything living in his pocket dimension; it was one of those strange laws of the universe that just seemed to exist just to make sure magic wasn’t too convenient. But he had never found a way around it, so he was forced to conclude that it was a law nonetheless. So, the moving itself, would be difficult. As would finding a place that was as conducive to the cats as Midgard. Loki found himself getting a little choked up thinking about it. Damn Stark, why did he have to come to Loki’s rescue of all places?

“Oh, yeah, I guess as a hero, it's my duty and all that, huh?” Stark asked thoughtfully, staring at the kittens again. “But, you know, I feel like, of the hero duties, saving innocents is probably higher than stopping bad guys, right? Especially, bad guys who haven’t done anything wrong in a really long time.”

“Two years is hardly long, even for you mortals,” Loki argued, though he wasn’t entirely sure why he would argue against this. 

“Fair, but I think my point still stands. Yeah, I think that it would be irresponsible of me to take you in while there are little kittens in need of rescuing.” Stark looked like he had come to a decision. Unfortunately, the decision confused the hel out of Loki.

“You do know there are other rescues right?” Apparently, Loki was intent on sinking himself deeper into this hole.

“Well, sure, but I looked it up, this one is the best. And Tony Stark only does the best.” It was annoying, how pleasing Loki found that comment, especially when matched with Stark’s direct attention. But then Stark looked back down at the kittens. “So, yep, you’re good. Only until they are adopted, of course.”

“You realize that will likely take several months? They are still quite young. They will need to be weaned and socialized and get their shots, and that is assuming that there aren’t any other medical issues to deal with.” The three kittens seemed healthy enough; they certainly had the energy for their little battle royale, but Loki had found that looks could be deceiving. 

“Oh, well, yeah, that makes sense. Guess I’ll just have to stop in on the regular,” Stark’s eyes crinkled as he grinned at something one of the kittens had done, reaching back in to wriggle his fingers at them again. “You know, just to keep an eye on you, of course, not for any other reason.”

Loki hummed in apparent agreement, but he knew better. It was damned endearing and so annoying for it, but Stark didn’t quite want to say goodbye to the kittens. He was using Loki as an excuse. Loki knew he shouldn’t let him; he knew that he should take off the moment Stark left his place and never look back. He also knew that wasn’t going to happen. 

*************************************

After much mental wrestling, Loki decided to stay. Not because he trusted Stark or anything, Loki really just wanted to stay. Loki was also putting faith, perhaps too much of it, into the idea that he could escape via magic if Stark decided to show up with the Avengers in tow. No matter how Stark showed up next, Loki never expected that it would be the very next day. 

“Loki, I feel like I should warn you,” Stark started upon entering the building. 

Loki’s first thought was to jump out of his chair, but he currently had all four of his cats snoozing happily across his lap and the armchair. Sap that it turned out he was, Loki couldn’t bear to move them unless it was vitally necessary. But if Stark was threatening him, he’d have to move fast. Then again, if Stark was threatening him, he’d probably come in with armour and the Avengers, certainly his brother at least. But no, once again, Stark was in a t-shirt and jeans, looking far too casual for someone who had such power over Loki at this point. Far too pleased with himself as well. 

“I think your blanket is breathing,” Stark finished with a grin. All the tension that had built up in Loki’s limbs released. He laughed shakily, annoyed with both himself and Stark for the worry. 

Cali popped her head up and blinked at Loki. Apparently, his slight muscle tension had moved her just enough that she needed to convey her displeasure. 

“Shit, it has a face!” Stark yelped, jumping back and grabbing his chest, his eyes theatrically wide. 

Loki just rolled his eyes. Tiger rumbled at the noise. 

“My cats are just as amused by your antics as I am, Stark.” Loki relayed, deadpan. 

Stark didn’t seem at all put off and actually took a few steps forward. “These guys all yours? As in, actually yours, not the rescue.”

“Yes, these four stay with me,” Loki said, looking down at them with more affection than he should really show in front of Stark. “They were the first beings I met after I left Asgard.”

Loki looked up then, wondering if Stark would take the bait on Loki bringing up Asgard. He seemed uninterested. He held a hand out to Cali, who was still sitting up, a questioning look on his face. Loki shrugged and Stark inched forward to scratch behind Cali’s ears. Cali immediately started purring and shot Loki a look that indicated strong approval. 

“What are their names?” Stark asked after a moment.

“The affection slut you are currently petting is Cali,” named such as she was a calico cat. “You’ve already met Tiger,” Loki gestured to the orange cat. “The long-haired black one is Fluffy and the black short-hair is Shadow.”

“Those are the most unimaginative cat names I have ever heard of,” Stark snorted, shaking his head. “Really, Shakespeare, I had a lot more faith in your brain.”

“I had just gotten here,” Loki protested, but he couldn’t help but agree. He had known so little of Midgard at the time, but he had known he wanted to live there, to make a place for himself. As such, he had wanted to give the cats Midgardian names. It was silly, really. Were the cats going to not fit in if they didn’t have the right names? Were they going to be left out of all the cat games? Labeled freaks? It was absurd, but the names had stuck. 

Stark just hummed dubiously, before he put his hands in his pockets in an overly casual way. “So, are those kittens I brought in around at all?”

“I don’t generally keep the new arrivals in the front. I don’t want a random walk-in surprising them,” Loki explained.

“Yeah, that makes sense. Good thinking.”

“Yes, it’s almost as if I do this professionally,” Loki sniped. 

Tony just gave an apologetic grin. Ok, fine, if he wasn’t going to ask. 

“Would you like to come through to the back to see them?” Loki offered.

“Oh, you know, I know you’re kind of tied up there. And really I’m just here to check on you and make sure you aren’t up to something.” Tony protested. Loki didn’t believe it for a second, which was odd once he really thought about it. 

“Well, most mischief making requires leaving one’s chair, so I think I’m safe. Thanks for stopping in, Stark.” Loki pulled his book open again. 

“But… if you’re offering I wouldn’t say no.” Tony continued and Loki tried very hard not to smirk. “I mean, you could be keeping all the evil plans in the back.”

“Yes, of course, you caught me, Stark.” Loki chuckled, but he lifted himself out of the chair. Four protesting adolescents went rolling around, yowling at him in displeasure. Stark laughed and Loki ignored them all, leading the way to the back and the little grey tabbies that Stark wanted so badly to see. 

Stark showed up the next day and the day after that. In fact, Stark showed up seven days in a row. Finally, after the 9th such visit, Loki was confident enough in their tentative peace to pry. 

“Don’t you have a job? Or several?” Loki asked. In addition to being a hero, Stark built all the weapons and gear for the Avengers, was a consultant for SHIELD, on the board of directors for his company and still helmed most of the Research and Development for his company as well. Let no one say Loki was not thorough in his research when seeking to destroy his enemies. 

Stark huffed a laugh at that. “Sure, but the nice thing about being a billionaire is that I get to set my own work hours. I can spend an hour or two playing with kittens. It’s not like I sleep much anyways.”

Stark had said the last line while smiling down at the one female of the three kittens he had brought in, but Loki sensed that the man was troubled. Not that he was going to say anything, of course. He was comfortable enough to pry about Stark’s work schedule, but not his sleeping habits. Loki was all too familiar with things that could keep one from sleep. 

“Well, I’m tempted to say that it seems like a frivolous way to spend your time, but that would smack of hypocrisy, so I’ll refrain.” Loki mused. 

Stark snorted. “You know, they say cats are good for the soul, well, pets in general at least. I think I get it; I never did before.”

Stark wiggled his fingers and laughed as the larger male kitten leaped to destroy them, seizing the fingers in his forward paws and curling onto his back to bring his back legs into the attack as well. Loki smiled too, as much at Stark as the kitten. He knew exactly what the man meant. 

*************************************************

And so it went on like that. Stark showed up for an hour or so every day, sometimes just playing with the kittens, sometimes helping Loki with feedings and even shots. Until suddenly it was two months later and Stark had somehow become Tony. Loki didn’t quite know when it happened; he certainly couldn’t have explained how. But at some point during the meals shared across the counter and the stories told, Loki had fallen for the man. 

It was ridiculous, and doomed as well, no doubt. Stark was just using him to see the kittens and to make sure they got adopted to good homes. Loki didn’t doubt that the man enjoyed his company to a reasonable degree, but he couldn’t possibly feel what Loki did. But Loki also believed that Tony wouldn’t turn him in either. It still didn’t make it any easier when he realized that the kittens were almost ready for adoption. 

“So, I’ll probably put up the ads for these three next week,” Loki posed casually. 

Tony’s breath hitched in surprise. “Really? Already?”

“It has been over two months,” Loki reminded him. 

“Yeah, I guess it has. Time really does fly by, huh?” Tony looked down at the kitten in his hand morosely. 

“Do you ever keep any of them?” Tony asked suddenly. 

Loki looked over at the four lazy bums on the armchair and then looked back at Tony. He laughed. 

“Yeah, besides them. They’re special; they’re like your mascots.”

“They are enough, trust me. I don’t need to become even more of a crazy, lonely cat person than I already am,” Loki joked. 

“Are you?” Tony asked. “Lonely, I mean?”

Loki debated on how much truth to give and decided that it couldn’t hurt. 

“Surely you must have noticed that you are the only one who comes in regularly? That I never have plans. It’s difficult, getting to know people without any common ground. Not to mention being concerned they’ll realize that I tried to take over their planet. Cats are easier, but even I can’t get all the interaction I need from cats.”

“And what am I, chopped liver?” 

“You’re here for the kittens,” Loki dismissed the comment before changing the subject. “ _ You  _ could keep them, you know” 

Tony looked wistfully at the cats before shaking his head. “My lifestyle is definitely not conducive to pet ownership. The last thing I need is three little dependants when I can barely take care of myself. No, they’d be better off getting adopted by someone else.”

Tony looked like he was trying to convince himself as much as Loki. Like he’d probably had the argument with himself several times before. Loki felt for him, but he also understood. Tony’s life was chaotic to say the least. Over the past two months Tony had been called away on various emergencies for both the Avengers and Stark Industries no less than ten times. And that was just in the hour or so that Loki saw him. He couldn’t imagine trying to keep track of kittens in that environment, or a relationship. Which was why Tony was no longer with the venerable Ms. Potts. Most people didn’t seem to enjoy chaos like Loki did. 

But soon, it would all be moot. The kittens would be adopted and Tony wouldn’t have a reason to come around anymore. And Loki would be fine. He wouldn’t be happy necessarily, but he’d go on. If there was anything he could do, it was survive. And maybe, if he could continue to distract himself with this business and the feeling of accomplishment that came with it and not turn to mischief, he could actually stay on this planet he had come to love so much. If he couldn’t hope for Tony’s affection, he at least believed he may have earned Tony’s trust. 

**************************************

Loki stared at his email in shock. He was elated and yet despairing. He had posted the three kittens up for adoption not three days ago and already there was someone interested in adopting all three! Loki loved keeping siblings together when he could, but it rarely happened and never with more than two. An email wasn’t a guarantee of adoption, though. Loki sent back a reply requesting that they drop by the office tomorrow morning. Loki always met with people in person first and plenty of them backed out, but still, his time with Stark was coming to an end even quicker than he had thought. 

“Hey Lolo, what’s shaking?” Tony asked walking into Loki’s office from the front. He plopped himself down in the guest chair. Shadow immediately jumped into the man’s lap and started purring like a motorboat. 

Loki had given up trying to stick to boundaries with Stark after the first week. The man made himself at home wherever he was and nothing Loki could do would stop him. Not that Loki didn’t absolutely adore the image of Tony Stark at home in Loki’s space. 

“I just got an email that someone is interested in adopting all three of the kittens,” Loki said, still in a bit of shock.

“Aww, that’s awesome! Keeping the band together,” Stark smiled warmly before snorting. “Their funeral.”

Loki chuckled weakly. The three kittens were a handful, to be sure. They had never lost the seemingly limitless energy they had displayed when they first came in. They generally focused that energy on killing one another, but they wouldn’t hesitate to wreak it on anyone who got in their way. Loki was really going to miss these ones, and not just because of their link to Stark’s presence. 

“I’ve requested a meeting with them tomorrow,” Loki continued.

“Really? Why’s that?”

“Oh, I always personally meet with everyone before I go forward with an adoption. I interview them and see how they do with the cats first.”

“Big softy!” Stark teased. 

Loki rolled his eyes. “I’m not just the God of Lies because I’m good at lying. I’m very good at reading people and I could never be responsible for putting a cat in a worst situation than I rescued them from.” That brought to mind Loki’s own experiences which he quickly tried to shake off. 

“Have a drink with me tonight,” Tony blurted, apropos of nothing.

Loki just looked back at him, not sure what he was hearing.

“To celebrate the little monsters getting adopted,” Tony clarified. 

Ah, yes. Loki knew it was a friendly gesture, Tony really was trying. But Loki couldn’t help but feel like Tony wanted to celebrate never having to see Loki again. Still, it was a chance to go out with Tony. To have it be just the two of them, no kittens, no walk-ins, just Tony’s undivided attention. How could Loki possibly say no to that?

“Of course, I’d love to… celebrate the little ones getting adopted,” Loki tacked on so he would seem a little less eager. All he had was his dignity; he wasn’t going to toss that out the window with Tony. The thought brought to mind Loki and Tony’s first interaction which brought with it an odd combination of amusement and shame. 

“Awesome, so I’ll come pick you up, say eight-ish?” Tony offered. 

Loki just nodded wondering how he was going to get through the rest of the day focusing on anything other than the outing; because it definitely wasn’t a date. Hel, how was he going to get through the outing and not call it a date? Maybe he should rethink this. But just as he opened his mouth to tell Tony that he just remembered he was otherwise engaged, Tony had already left. Which, that was odd as well. Even when there was an Avengers call, Tony didn’t just leave without saying goodbye. He must have been just as distracted as Loki was. Oh well, it was probably for the best. Tony would never have believed Loki had other plans anyways. 

**************************************

Getting drinks with Tony was nice. It would actually be fun if Loki wasn’t an uncomfortable mixture of morose and tense. This was why walling off your heart was so much easier. It wasn’t so bad being a crazy cat person. Cats, for all he couldn’t quite fully understand their speech, were much easier to read than people. Sure, he was a borderline hermit but at least he was mostly happy. 

“Earth to the alien!” Tony said inordinately loudly, waving his hand in front of Loki. Loki had the sense that Tony had been trying to get his attention for a bit now. 

“Sorry, Tony. I suppose I got lost in my thoughts.” Loki apologized.

“Sure,” Tony said, drawing out the word to indicate that he wasn’t buying it. “You want to talk about it?”

“It’s nothing,” Loki said. At Tony’s disbelieving look he folded. “I suppose I just always get a little nostalgic when the any cats I’ve bonded with get adopted.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie. Loki did always miss them, despite it being an all around positive situation. This one was just a bit more complicated than most. 

“Come on! Don’t be like that Lokes! Focus on the positive! We’re celebrating, remember? We’re happy that the tiny terrorists are going to a happy and completely unsuspecting home.” Tony laughed, holding up his glass of scotch in a toast.

“Yes,” Loki said, tipping Tony’s glass with his own, smile frozen on his face. “And, of course, the fact that you won’t have to come pester me about them every day.”

It was meant to be a joke, really it was. It just didn’t come out as smoothly as his jokes normally did. There was too much tension, too much feeling over the evening for Loki to completely mask his feelings. Tony’s guilty frown just clinched it. 

So Loki threw back the rest of his scotch in one smooth pull. Might as well get this over with sooner rather than later. “Look at that, celebratory drink accomplished. No sense in dragging this out longer than it needs to be. Goodbye Tony.”

Loki nodded to Tony, pausing just a minute to take in that handsome face, those soft, brown eyes in person one last time before he walked out the door with his dignity intact. He wanted Tony to call out after him, wanted it so badly that he could almost hear it. He almost turned around to confirm, but since when did Loki ever get everything he wanted?

**************************************

When Loki first made the appointment to meet the potential adoptee of Tony’s little monsters, Loki had desperately wanted to hate him or her. That way he could delay the adoption for as long as possible and stretch out his remaining time with Stark. Now that he had successfully screwed himself over on that front, Loki wanted to like the person and just get the pain over with. 

Loki was just watching the door, nervous and antsy, as the meeting time approached. His heart rattled in his chest when the door opened and fell into his stomach when it was Tony who entered. 

“Loki,” Tony started. 

“Stark, I know I was an embarrassment last night, but I really don’t want to get into it right now. I’m meeting with the potential adoptee.” Loki rushed out, eager to get Tony back through the door. 

“Yeah, I know, it’s me.” Tony said awkwardly. 

“What?” Loki asked, his brain stuttering.

“I’m the one who wants to adopt the kittens,” Tony explained patiently. 

“But…” 

“Look, I know I said that my schedule wouldn’t work, and you’ve seen proof of that yourself, but I don’t care. I’ll hire a catsitter or two if I need to. I just… I love those damn balls of fuzz and I’ll do anything to keep them in my life,” Tony croaked out, looking suddenly desperate and earnest. “And, I mean, I know you made your feelings about me really clear last night. I actually hadn’t realized that you hated me that much, seriously, you play it close to the vest. But, please don’t hold that against me and keep me from them. I’m literally begging you. At least if you let me adopt them you know I will stop bugging you.”

Loki just blinked at Tony. He couldn’t possibly be saying what Loki thought he was saying. Then again, thinking back to their disastrous dinner the night before, out of context, Loki could see where Tony would get the impression that Loki had stormed out for far different reasons. In his defensiveness, he had projected the exact opposite of his true feelings. Of course, Tony’s distress didn’t mean that he cared about Loki like Loki did, but maybe there was more than light friendliness to the man who had the kittens Tony loved so much. 

Tony watched Loki blink, the pleading look never left his face. Loki knew he should say something. He could clarify his position, his feelings, but he was hesitant to risk it. Tony worrying about not getting his kittens wasn’t the same as liking Loki’s company himself. After a prolonged silence, Tony sighed. 

“Oh, fuck it. I had this plan, Loki. It all started with the celebratory drink. I wanted to get you away from seeing being with me as a work situation, feel out our chemistry in a social setting, which I already thought was pretty damn good, but what do I know? So yeah, that backfired. But, then I was going to come in here and surprise you with adopting the kittens. We kind of bonded and all taking care of them and I figured it would be like a link, you know? So you’d have a reason to keep seeing me and maybe we’d move forward into something more friendly, possibly even romantic?” Tony rubbed his face, the skin turning suspiciously red. “Damn, I’m an idiot. I even had these sappy names all picked out and… you know what, I’m just going to go. Forget I said anything.”

“What were you going to name them?” Loki called, making Tony turn back around. 

He looked incredibly sheepish, but there was a little glimmer of hope when Loki called him back. “Hela, Fenrir and Jormie.”

“His name isn’t Jormie,” Loki corrected reflexively.

“Well I can’t pronounce the full thing and that’s too much of a mouthful for daily use anyways so he’d be Jormie,” Tony said with no little frustration. 

Loki chuckled. “My children from the myths,” He mused. He was well aware of the significance of that and it warmed him down to his core. It wasn’t just one-sided. Tony actually cared for Loki just as much as he did. He wanted Loki in his life, in the little kitten’s lives. 

“So, if I’m the father, does that make you the mother?” Loki asked slyly.

Tony glared at him. “I’m not mom, I’m… um… other dad.”

Loki grinned and finally came out from behind the protection of the desk. He walked up to Tony, delighting in the hopeful smile and the anticipatory body language of the other man. The way he held his arms tightly at his sides as if he was fighting the impulse to reach out. Loki decided to save him the trouble and just wrap his arms around Tony’s neck. 

“You want to adopt kittens together,” Loki re-stated.

“Absolutely, I mean, if you want to keep them,” Tony confirmed.

“Oh, I want to, I’ve been wanting to since almost the beginning.” Of course, Loki wasn’t just talking about the kittens.

“And me?” Tony put his hands on Loki’s hips, but it seemed that he still needed some reassurance.

“Oh, I’m absolutely keeping you, my ridiculous mortal.”

**Author's Note:**

> And they all lived happily ever after in all their crazy cat people glory.


End file.
